Elf Counterbid for TotalFina
Evokes '80s Pac-Man Defense

By

Anita Raghavan and

Nikhil Deogun Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal

Updated July 20, 1999 12:01 a.m. ET

LONDON -- It's back to the '80s again.

Elf Aquitaine SA's $50.97 billion cash-and-stock counterbid for TotalFina SA marks a return to that well-known 1980s defense tactic: the Pac-Man strategy, where a company that is the target of a hostile bid turns around and makes an offer for its potential acquirer.